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Q&A and Song debut: Princess Superstar's 'Chick Habit'

It's impossible not to like Princess Superstar, an artist who has been deftly blending bold, humorous lyrics with savvy beats for more than 15 years. This week she releases a new EP, I'm A Firecracker, which

Q&A and Song debut: Princess Superstar's 'Chick Habit'

It's impossible not to like Princess Superstar, an artist who has been deftly blending bold, humorous lyrics with savvy beats for more than 15 years.

This week she releases a new EP, I'm A Firecracker, which marks her return to the music scene after taking some time to focus on her family life. Today I'm happy to debut Princess Superstar's reworking of the song Chick Habit. Before you turn it up, see what she had to tell me about the cover and her awesome-sounding hip-hop class for kids:

Princess Superstar releases a new EP July 15.(Photo: Joseph Cultice)

I was thrilled to hear your version of Chick Habit — I love that song! What is it about the original track that appealed to you?

Thanks! Well, I thought it was perfect for a little update since nobody had made a hip-hop version about guys who are addicted to chicks! Plus, I am a huge fan of Serge Gainsbourg, who wrote the original, and I loved April March's rendition.

Ever since I saw you on MTV's Made years ago, I thought you had a gift for working with young people. Tell me a little about the kids' class you teach in Brooklyn.

It's called Play Skool! (It's) hip-hop for kids, and it's at Rough Trade, this amazing record store/performance space. We teach kids the history of hip-hop, how to rap, how to dance, and we even have a graffiti "wall" that they tag after we come up with their MC or DJ names. I teach them the correlation between nursery rhymes and rapping, and everyone gets a chance on the mic. We teach them about samples, bringing in live instruments. My co-teachers are from TLB Music, a bona fide music school, so we have developed a real curriculum.

On a related note, my daughter is almost 2 and really into music. Are there any songs or artists you'd recommend I play for her?

It's awesome to get kids into this stuff early. My 3-year-old can already rap along to Rapper's Delight! Kids love these tracks: Jump on It (Apache), Paid in Full (Eric B. & Rakim), Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot (make sure you get the clean version). And watch out — I will be putting out a kid's record sometime next year, too.

And finally, what sort of advice do you give to folks who are interested in pursuing musical/artistic careers? You've been making music for a long time, and that kind of staying power is rare these days.

It is a miracle to me, too. Anyway, you have to follow your heart musically and not be attached to making "hits." I think my longevity is due to never giving up when so many times things were hard or it looked like I should just quit and get a "real job." Also, being open to new music and always seeking out the new hot stuff that I like and never being pigeonholed as an artist. Lastly, good advice for all: working super-duper hard and then giving the results over (to) the universe!